Payroll Manager

Kassen Recruitment; Toronto; On-site; CAD 90,000 - 130,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health benefits

Job summary

Kassen Recruitment is seeking an experienced Payroll Manager to lead its payroll function across Canada and the United States. You will oversee processing, ensure compliance, and drive continuous improvement, while partnering with HR, Finance, and business leaders.

You will mentor a payroll team, manage audits, and implement system enhancements to scale payroll operations across multi-jurisdictional lines.

Qualifications

• 8+ years of progressive payroll experience including Canada/US operations.
• 3+ years of experience leading and developing payroll teams.
• Strong knowledge of multi-jurisdictional payroll taxation and compliance.
• Hands-on experience with major payroll/HRI systems and integrations.
• Experience supporting acquisitions or organizational transitions.
• Excellent project management and organizational skills.

Responsibilities

• Lead payroll processing for hourly and salaried employees across Canada and the US.
• Ensure compliance with federal, provincial, state, and local requirements.
• Oversee reconciliations, remittances, year-end activities, and reporting.
• Review results and resolve discrepancies before final processing.
• Coach and develop payroll team members; drive continuous improvement.
• Establish payroll controls, policies, and audit practices.
• Partner with HR, Finance, Benefits, and leaders on payroll initiatives.
• Support system initiatives and payroll data integrity.

Skills

People leadership

Compliance

Continuous improvement

Analytical thinking

Stakeholder communication

Education

Professional payroll designation

Advanced payroll certification

Tools

HRIS platform

Payroll system

Job description

A diversified organization is seeking an experienced Payroll Manager to lead its payroll function. This is a high-impact opportunity for a payroll professional who combines strong technical knowledge with people leadership, compliance expertise, and a continuous improvement mindset.

Reporting to senior finance or people leadership, the Payroll Manager will oversee payroll operations across Canada and the United States, ensuring accurate and timely processing while maintaining compliance with applicable payroll and employment requirements. The position will work closely with Human Resources, Finance, Benefits, Accounting, and business leaders. It will also contribute to organizational changes, business integrations, system initiatives, and other projects that support the continued evolution of the payroll function.

What You'll Do

• Lead the accurate and timely processing of payroll for hourly and salaried employees across multiple jurisdictions
• Ensure compliance with applicable federal, provincial, state, and local payroll, tax, wage, and employment requirements
• Oversee payroll reconciliations, remittances, year-end activities, and statutory reporting
• Review payroll results and resolve discrepancies or complex transactions before final processing
• Serve as a subject matter expert on Canadian and U.S. payroll legislation, taxation, and best practices
• Lead, coach, and develop payroll team members while promoting accountability and continuous improvement
• Establish and maintain effective payroll controls, policies, procedures, and audit practices
• Partner with HR, Finance, Benefits, Accounting, and operational leaders on payroll-related initiatives
• Support business integrations and organizational changes, including employee onboarding, payroll transitions, data validation, and process alignment
• Monitor legislative developments and implement required changes to payroll processes and systems
• Develop payroll reporting, metrics, and analytics to support operational and business decisions
• Identify opportunities for automation, standardization, and process improvement to increase efficiency and scalability
• Coordinate payroll-related audits and compliance reviews, ensuring documentation and responses are complete and timely
• Act as a key business owner and subject matter expert for the organization's payroll systems
• Oversee payroll configuration, earnings and deductions, tax setup, workflows, testing, upgrades, and troubleshooting
• Partner with HR technology teams, Finance, and external service providers to improve system functionality
• Lead testing associated with system enhancements, regulatory changes, and payroll initiatives
• Maintain strong payroll data integrity through regular reviews, system monitoring, documentation, and standardized procedures

What You Bring

• Professional payroll designation required; advanced payroll certification is an asset
• 8+ years of progressive payroll experience, including responsibility for Canadian and U.S. payroll operations
• 3+ years of experience leading and developing payroll teams
• Strong knowledge of multi-jurisdictional payroll taxation and compliance
• Hands-on experience administering a major payroll or HRIS platform
• Experience supporting payroll activities related to acquisitions, integrations, or organizational transitions
• Strong understanding of payroll controls, reconciliations, reporting, and year-end processes
• Excellent project management and organizational skills
• Strong analytical and problem-solving abilities
• Confident communication skills and the ability to work effectively with senior stakeholders and cross-functional teams

Why Join

This is an opportunity to take ownership of a critical business function within a collaborative and evolving organization. You'll have meaningful influence over payroll operations, systems, compliance, and process improvement while leading a team and partnering with stakeholders across the business.